Intel extends Wireless MMX

Intel has updated its Wireless MMX mobile multimedia technology, paving the way for a revision of its XScale PXA ARM-based processor family.

Today, Intel unveiled Wireless MMX 2, a series of 64-bit SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) instructions not unlike the SSE extensions developed for its desktop processors. Essentially, they're designed to apply programs to data streams, such as 3D imagery, video and audio. Intel is pitching the technology at handset makers looking to create ever more feature-rich devices - typically through enhanced media handling.

The chip maker launched Wireless MMX a year ago, bringing the MMX multimedia-oriented instruction set over from the x86 world to its ARM CPUs, along with a number of unique ARM-only instructions and the integer instructions from the SSE set.

Intel said Wireless MMX 2 will be available in "future Intel XScale technology-based platforms", but provided no roadmap for their arrival. At Intel Developer Forum (IDF) earlier this month, there was little to indicate an upcoming revision of the PXA27x series - the mobility roadmap the company presented at the show suggested no major change to the processor family for some time. ®